A Reflection on the Declining Number of Verizon Stores*
Almost up until the day in 2002 (nearly exactly 8 years ago) I signed up for my first cell phone, I had vowed I would never get one. I didn’t like the idea of being constantly reachable. Yet, after a wonderful day at Disney with two nieces and a nephew, don’t know how I could have managed many family gatherings without one. Simply put, because both my brother and I had cell phones, I could take my 14-year-old niece on rides her (much) younger siblings were too young (or too small) to enjoy.
Not long ago, I vowed I’d never upgrade to a Smartphone, not wanting to have the temptation of internet access wherever I go.
Today, after much consideration, I went out and bought a smart phone, in large measure due to recent nudging for my sister-in-law. To be sure, had been wrestling with getting one, but kept putting off the decision because I’m a Mac guy and the iPhone is not available to Verizon users (& I have long been very happy with that service). But, well, I got a great deal on an LG phone via a Verizon mailer (about $50 with rebate). (Yes, I’m aware that Verizon users may soon be able to keep their carrier on iPhones.)
All that said, today, when I returned home from Disney and got said circular in the mail (seeing this as a sign to followup on my sister-in-law’s concern), I figured I should check the phone out at the local Verizon store. Anyway, when I googled Verizon, I came up with only two stores near me. Eight years ago, when I had bought my first cell phone, I recall there being about seven. Indeed, the store where I bought my first cell phone (as well as the one where I bought my second) has long since closed down.
So, I was wondering that, as cell phone usage becomes commonplace, there is less need for such outlets, fewer people going in to set up (their initial) cell phone service, with more stores selling cell phones and helping you transfer your (already existing) service to the new gadget.
Maybe it’s just the serendipity of my getting a new phone the same time I take note of the decline in the number of Verizon outlets causes me to think about the cultural changes underway. Eight years ago, when I got my first cellphone, not everyone had one. Now, all of my friends do, with some not having a landline. Today, with my new Smartphone, I may well be behind the curve. To be sure, many people still have the “old-fashioned” cell phone I had through early this afternoon, but there weren’t many such models on display at the Verizon store, indeed far fewer than the number of smartphones.
Perhaps, a year, if not two years hence, we’ll all have smartphones and cell phones without e-mail connections will be considered a thing of the past. Perhaps.
*(in Metropolitan Los Angeles and perhaps elsewhere.)
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Remember when there were gas stations on every corner?
Some corners had more than one.
Then it was cell phone stores.
And now there are fewer.
But nothing is filling the empty storefronts.
Seems we are in a not-too-friendly business environment.
Comment by Nan G — July 7, 2010 @ 9:03 pm - July 7, 2010
Dude. You should’ve gotten a Droid.
Who really wants a stanky old i*hone anyways?
Comment by john — July 7, 2010 @ 9:11 pm - July 7, 2010
“Is there an app for kissing my shiny metal ass?” – Bender
Now are you talking about Verizon stores or authorized dealers? Most of those were probably independent Verizon dealers which probably went out of business. Those tend to come and go.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 7, 2010 @ 9:32 pm - July 7, 2010
John, I did get a droid.
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — July 7, 2010 @ 9:42 pm - July 7, 2010
Verizon?? Who’s that? I can’t even get Verizon to satisfactorily-explain my current bills for months. I’m in the process of ditching Verizon for my architecture practice’s telephone and Internet connections. One of their competitors is half what Verizon was charging….and the broad-band connection is 4-5x as fast up-n-down.
For cellular, I’ve been using a prepaid Tracfone quite successfully, altho the battery-life isn’t what they promised.
Comment by Ted B. (Charging Rhino) — July 7, 2010 @ 11:17 pm - July 7, 2010
The store I got my blackberry at a few months ago was across the street from another Verizon store. But these are the only ones within 20 minutes of my house. Weird.
Comment by BC — July 7, 2010 @ 11:17 pm - July 7, 2010
Now, I’ve got to figure out how to disable the ping when I receive a new e-mail. Don’t think I can do it without silencing alert for incoming text messages.
Why don’t new gadgets come with manuals any more?
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — July 8, 2010 @ 1:45 am - July 8, 2010
While my partner and I both have iPhones and AT&T, my mom chose to go with Boost Mobile’s $50/mo unlimited plan for Blackberry, and she couldn’t be more thrilled and impressed with the quality of service.
This is a woman who not a year ago swore she’s never get a cell phone. Mind you, she also once told me she’d NEVER buy music on CD, either…
Comment by Eric Olsen — July 8, 2010 @ 6:51 am - July 8, 2010
Dan, I meant Motorola Droid.
you said LG.
Anyway…gmail->settings->notification settings. You can set the notification ringtone to silent.
I am running 2.2 tho. Should be the same for 2.1.
Typically each app has its own notification settings.
Comment by john — July 8, 2010 @ 8:11 am - July 8, 2010
I’m like sooo addicted to cell phones is not not even funny. I even bought the unlocked Nexus One lol. Oh yeah, the app called encountr (yes no ‘e’) sucks but it’s the best so far. Sure is not Grindr but i’ll mannage.
Comment by Spike — July 8, 2010 @ 8:17 am - July 8, 2010
Gwt the Tricoder app. It’s geektastic.
Comment by The_Livewire — July 8, 2010 @ 10:08 am - July 8, 2010
The LG Ally?
Should have waited a week for the Droid X. The Ally runs like a pig. The price difference is significant, but that isn’t important. The monthly cost on both of these phones is the same, but the performance boost in the higher end Droids is definitely noticeable and well worth the extra money for the device. I doubt the LG Ally has the specs to be upgraded to Android 3.0 and wouldn’t be surprised if it couldn’t handle 2.2. It’s one of those phones that is literally obsolete on the day it gets released.
You can bring it back within 30 days for a $35 restocking fee and pick up the Droid X on July 15. Again, it’s well worth it. I have the Droid Incredible and I’d recommend that one if it wasn’t back-ordered for a month. Droid X. The price difference is $150, but trust me, it’s worth every penny.
Comment by Levi — July 8, 2010 @ 10:53 am - July 8, 2010
Levi, on this one point, I may take your advice. In my case, given my rebate, the restocking fee is more than the cost of the phone. I ended up getting this because of the cost and because I needed to upgrade. Didn’t much think about the particular model, just went from the circular sent out. And trusted the guy in the store because he steered me away from the more expensive model — $199 after rebate. Said company wasn’t as reliable as LG.
If my finances allow and I need a better phone, maybe I’ll upgrade.
Am I saying this after having a new phone for fewer than 24 hours?
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — July 8, 2010 @ 11:57 am - July 8, 2010
My bet would be that the guy at the store sold you on the LG because that’s what they have in stock. Verizon is sold out of their flagship (HTC Droid Incredible) right now until August and the new king of the hill (Motorola Droid X) is coming out next week. The line about LG being more reliable is bunk, HTC is the up-and-comer in the wireless industry right now and Motorola is experiencing a resurgence with Android.
Wireless carriers sell phones like the LG Ally because it makes their customers think they’re getting a better deal, but as I said, you’re required to pay the same monthly cost regardless of the smartphone. At the absolute bare minimum, you will be on the hook to pay $1680 over the course of two years with any phone in their lineup. If you add in the device cost, you’re only saving about 10% of that amount if you go with the free phone, but you get about half the computer speed, fewer megapixels in the camera, less GB storage, a smaller screen, a lower chance you’ll be upgraded to newer version of the OS that might add cool features, etc. It’s like paying the same monthly payment for an Oldsmobile as a Ferrari for just as long but saving a little tiny bit on the down payment.
I’d switch it if I were you, though you might encounter some resistance if you try to get a Droid X next week. There will be a limited number and I’m pretty sure the sales reps like to save these big launches for new activations and upgrades, not returns, because they don’t get paid for those.
Comment by Levi — July 8, 2010 @ 12:32 pm - July 8, 2010
$1680? Actually, I’ll only be paying about $720 over 2 years for the new service.
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — July 8, 2010 @ 12:36 pm - July 8, 2010
You can still get a Moto Droid, and they may still have the buy-one-get-one-free deal going on for someone.
Moto Droid is a bit slow stock, but if you root it and OC it, you can get a blazing fast phone for pretty cheap.
I’m running bugless beast 0.4, which is Android v2.2, and just installed a OC kernel putting me at 1.1GHz. My benchmarks smoke even the Nexus.
Rooting the droid is incredibly easy: http://www.droid-life.com/2010/05/06/guide-to-rooting-android-2-1-on-a-motorola-droid/
I only kept mine stock for like a week.
Comment by John — July 8, 2010 @ 1:09 pm - July 8, 2010
Ok, so I’m getting old, but are you freakin serious?!?!?!? Have we gay men become so lazy as to want to cruise via cell phone app now???
Sheesh!
Comment by Eric in Chicago — July 8, 2010 @ 2:31 pm - July 8, 2010
one more thing–this is an entirely new gadget for me, so even if it’s not ideal, it is a huge step forward.
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — July 8, 2010 @ 6:44 pm - July 8, 2010
I’ll bet one of the reasons for the dwindling Verizon stores is the big increase in the number of people like me using prepaid services.
I signed up with Straight Talk (They use Verizon’s network.) last month and am very pleased with the service.
Not to mention no service plan and a phone bill that dropped by 50%.
For someone like me who only cares about calls, texting and being able to use bluetooth, it’s perfect.
Comment by Bobbie — July 8, 2010 @ 9:05 pm - July 8, 2010
I heard-tell there’s a Vuzuvela app for the Droid. You could have some fun with that one.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 9, 2010 @ 5:59 am - July 9, 2010
I factored in the minimum voice plan as well. And that’s not including texting, either, so if you have that, it will be more.
Comment by Levi — July 9, 2010 @ 9:15 am - July 9, 2010
Don’t pay for texting. Use google voice.
TGC: It’s called Air Horn. It’s just like being there!
Comment by John — July 9, 2010 @ 12:27 pm - July 9, 2010
Had Verizon around the same time you got your first cell phone, but I didn’t like how I ran into so many dead zones; therefore, I switched to AT&T. I’ve been happy with AT&T to date, although I use my cell phone as only a phone. I don’t have internet access or any of the other things. I do have unlimited texting, but I just don’t text (texted a total of 2 times to date). I prefer to talk on my cell phone.
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — July 9, 2010 @ 2:17 pm - July 9, 2010